


The Seduction of Gaius Baelsar

by migratorycat



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Casual Sex, F/M, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Making Out, Rough Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:07:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22932286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/migratorycat/pseuds/migratorycat
Summary: Spoilers for 5.2 (Echoes of a Fallen Star) and its trial.Feeling rather frisky after her latest triumph, the Warrior of Light sets her sights on Gaius Baelsar. All of him.
Relationships: Gaius van Baelsar/Warrior of Light
Comments: 22
Kudos: 114





	1. The Seduction Begins

The day after my triumph over the Ruby Weapon I agreed to escort Gaius back to the palace. We went, just the two of us, by closed chocobo-drawn carriage, sitting across from one another in the cramped space, our knees almost touching. The wood smelled just faintly of mold, and the tiny windows afforded little light. Gaius sat with his eyes closed and his arms folded. I sat looking at him as openly as I wished. The gloomy atmosphere had little chance of stopping me from my darings.

“So,” I began. Gaius opened his eyes. I grinned at him, leaning further back in my seat with a casual air. “Looking at my figure, were you?”

His brows narrowed in confusion. “Pardon?”

“‘Even from afar your figure was unmistakable,’” I quoted him. “You said that after I defeated the Ruby Weapon. Were your eyes on my figure, then?”

He stared at me. One eyebrow lifted. I smiled wider.

“In the sense that I was watching your form in battle, yes,” he eventually said.

“Oho,” I responded, folding my arms. “My  _ form, _ you say.”

“What?” Gaius leaned forward a little, his expression growing increasingly strange. “What are you… are you attempting to flirt with me?” The words formed strangely on his lips, issued strangely from his deep voice, in their plainness as compared to when he delivered dire news, which was the only kind of talk I was used to hearing from him. The change pleased me.

When I only smiled lasciviously at him, he dropped his gaze to his lap, processing.

“Would it be so bad if I were?” I asked.

He looked back up at me. “Not long ago we were enemies,” he reminded me in a low, firm voice. “We fought to the death for the fate of your realm. And I was a fool, a pawn. The results of my hubris yet threaten you and yours.”

“Yes, but now you’ve proven yourself to be a staunch ally - for which I’m willing to let bygones be bygones.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re flirting at me.”

“I hadn’t seen you with your helmet off until recently. And I didn’t exactly get a chance to sit and talk with you at the Burn.”

Gaius’ whole body seemed to freeze. His astonishment plain, he stared at me. “Are you calling me handsome?”

“I’m not calling you ugly, that’s for certain.”

I had not thought it possible to surprise him so thoroughly. His lips parted slightly in a gape, which was likely his equivalent of wildly screaming  _ gods, what?! _ into the air.

"I've been told that I have questionable taste in men," I added.

At this, Gaius paused, then shut his eyes and issued a low chuckle. I had never seen him laugh before.

"Indeed," he said, putting his hands on his knees. "I cannot even begin to decipher the workings of your judgment. Can the Warrior of Light not have whomever she wishes? Why me? Are you desperate?"

I placed my hand upon his where it rested on his knee. He looked down at it, then up at me, his eyes slightly wide. "Not desperate," I said, "merely  _ willing _ ."

Something indecipherable swam across his eyes. I scooted forward, putting myself a little closer to him, and leaned in.

"When was the last time you felt the touch of a woman?" I asked softly.

Without the slightest delay or hesitation, he answered, "When I was told to." Then his dark cheeks darkened further in an uncharacteristic blush, and though he met my gaze steadily, I could tell that he regretted having spoken. My heart lurched at such an unfortunate answer. What did that mean,  _ when he was told to? _ It was my understanding that Garlemald was a cruel place; was that the way they went about it in the Empire, in their military? Breeding the “best” minds and bodies together, perhaps?

As I pondered this, my thumb traced a path back and forth across his index finger. He did not make any moves to extricate his hand from under mine.

"Well," I said softer still, "I’ll not tell you to do anything. Let me assure you that it's quite alright to say no to me."

He looked down past my lap, calm and contemplative, into another world. His silence inspired a round of fear in me that perhaps I had blundered, and so I rambled on: "I'll not hold it against you, or over your head. I-" 

He held up his other hand to stop me. "I understand." He let it fall to his thigh. "What I still do not understand is why you want me."

I sighed. "I've already proclaimed you attractive - is that not truth enough to justify it?" 

"Not when one takes our history into account." Gaius' eyes were stern, unyielding. "There must be an aim behind this, an outcome that benefits somehow. I would know of it."

I gaped at him, my open mouth twisting into a grin. "You've caught me."

He yanked his hand out from under mine with speed. His eyes narrowed into a glare. "As I thought," he said, venomous.

"My ulterior motive is…" I drew a breath, making it out as if I were revealing some shameful truth, "that I might ostensibly get to have an orgasm."

Gaius' jaw dropped, the anger and distrust on his face instantly giving way to bafflement. Again I had shocked him beyond my own expectations! I withdrew my hand to my lap, since he'd just displayed an unwillingness to be touched, and I wasn't one to violate another's space unless they wanted it violated.

"I…" He abandoned his attempt to speak and fell silent.

"This is all really much simpler than you're making it out to be, Gaius," I said. "I tend to get a little frisky after I've had a good fight." A half-truth; the rest of it being that I actually got  _ very _ frisky and it only subsided after either a couple weeks passed or I had a good lay to match. "We're allies now, and I think you're attractive, and given that I'm in the mood to get ploughed senseless, I'd love for you to provide.  _ If _ you'd like to," I added at the end, even more conscious now of possible reluctance.

"In the mood to…" The words passed soundlessly over his lips. He cleared his throat, folded his arms, and turned his head to the window to gaze outside. I could see the magitek gears in his mind whirling. The tiny amount of light filtering in from the window reflected off his eyes, producing a pretty glimmer.

"Never have I been propositioned so…" He lifted a hand, cupping it as if he could catch the word he sought falling from the air.

"Actively?" I proposed. He grunted in acceptance. I grinned. "I've been told I'm a force of nature."

To my surprise, he smiled, though wryly. "Indeed you are." He huffed a one-note laugh. "In battle for certain, and now, I see, in… other aspects."

He was silent for a long time - long enough that I eventually leaned back in my seat again and gazed out of my own window. The war-torn countryside provided an interesting tapestry for the eyes; I let my mind simply observe what I saw without thinking and drifted into a meditative state. And so it was for a while. Then… 

"Here?" Gaius said suddenly.

I snapped out of my reverie. "Hm?" 

"Here?" he asked again, his tone dubious. "Right now?"

It took me a moment to furnish my mind with his meaning, but when I did, my face lit up in a blush.  _ Seven hells, he's into it! _ I had fully expected rejection.

There was no way I'd be able to mount him in here without bending my neck and shoulders at a ninety degree angle, and other positions would be even more untenable.

So I said, "Sure, if you and I can just contort ourselves in impossible angles like voidsent horrors to fit in this tiny space, I'm willing."

He laughed. He  _ laughed! _ It was a laugh more than four chuckles long!

I beamed. "I was expecting things to happen back at the palace, of course."

Gaius made an acknowledging sound and turned back to his window, his mirth quickly fading.

"Though, I wouldn't mind a prelude," I murmured with a smile and a suggestive flicker of my eyelashes. "I find that more often than not, the performances that follow become more… inspired."

He looked at me. There was an unfamiliar spark in his eye, one that vanished behind the veil of sudden, careful focus. His eyes were on me in the way of an opponent in a duel, though I sensed no poise to fight in his body. There was a pull in it. A tension.

I leaned forward, getting up, delicately placing my hand on his thigh for balance. He did not stir, so I put my weight on him and drew closer, closer, until I felt the even breath from his nose tickle my chin. 

"You are free of disease?" asked Gaius, his voice low.

"Yes," I answered immediately and succinctly. I took these kinds of questions seriously.

"And how shall we go about acquiring protection?" 

"No need. I see the conjurers in Gridania halfway through each cycle to renew a spell that renders such worries moot."

"I see." His eyes flicked briefly down to my lips. His own twitched once, almost imperceptibly. “Magical contraception,” he continued. “Hm. Such a thing would be wildly popular in Garlemald.”

I hooked a finger under his chin. “Don’t deflect.”

“I am not deflecting,” Gaius said without defensiveness. “I am only making an observation. Allow me my small liberties.”

He closed the gap between us and his mouth settled over mine with warm and ungentle force.

My breathing and my heart faltered as he pressed against me. The stubble on his chin tickled my skin. He tilted his head, deepening the kiss immediately, and I had only to part my lips to meet his tongue with mine. The taste of him went right to my cheeks in a burst of heat.

He reached up and gently touched my neck with his fingers. The cloth bandages were softer than I expected them to be. We both exhaled at once, and our breaths clashed in a hot, brief tempest. I took his lower lip in my teeth, and he gave a little grunt, licking my lip in response. As soon as I let go he grabbed me, one hand on my shoulder and one on my hip, and pulled me roughly down to sit beside him. He leaned over my lap and kissed me again, his breath coming out in a short huff before he steadied it. His arm around me pulled me closer. His other hand squeezed my thigh.

My heart leapt skyward - I  _ loved _ to be handled. So often men were afraid of me, afraid to manhandle me like I wanted them to. They were afraid of the Warrior of Light, of offending her sensibilities, of losing the opportunity to bed her. Not Gaius Baelsar.

Gleefully I lifted a hand to his face, caressing his cheek, and then tucked my fingers into his hair and held him so that he would not pull away. His movements were so sensuous, so deliberate. It was electrifying. I thirsted for it. Oh, yes, my body was  _ awake. _

Eventually we did break apart, though our faces hovered near one another. We were both breathing heavily. I looked into his golden eyes and he looked into mine, and I wasn’t sure what I was seeing just yet, but I knew that I had  _ felt _ hunger in him, and I was keen to do something with that. Instinctually my hand drifted down to his groin, and what pressed back against my palm made my mouth water.

“My,” I purred. I shifted and turned to kneel on the carriage floor, and my hands sought and found his belt.

Gaius grabbed both my wrists. “Wait.”

I looked up at him with no small amount of confusion plain on my face.

He elaborated, “I haven’t had the chance to bathe since we arrived at the Ghimlyt Dark.”

I shrugged. “I once sucked off and then fucked a Crystarium chirurgeon who’d been doing work in the medicine boiler room all day. Doesn’t bother me.”

He tilted his head. “‘Crystarium’?”

“I’ll tell you later.” I made to keep going, but his grip on my wrists tightened.

“No,” he said firmly. I scowled.

“Much as this might surprise you, I strive to make a good impression with those I lie with,” he said. “You are no exception. We’ll wait until I’ve bathed.”

“Fine,” I huffed. I pushed myself back into my chair, folded my arms and legs, and glanced out the window.

“What is this ‘Crystarium’ you mentioned?” asked Gaius, and an epiphany struck me.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, bouncing once in my seat with excitement, “this is the  _ perfect _ opportunity to apprise you of everything that’s been going on.”

Gaius pursed his lips. “Are you certain that your companions would approve of that? They are keen to receive my intelligence, but do not often share their own with me in turn. They likely think little of me - and rightly so - and do not wish to take me into their confidence.”

“Ah, but this concerns the Ascians.”

A dangerous spark lit in his eye. “Oh?”

“Being the proficient Ascian-hunter you are-” I gestured to the trophies that hung from his coat. “- I don’t think anyone would mind me helping you stay current on their activities.”

“Then speak.”

“I shall: firstly, Emet-Selch is dead. You can chew on that while I tell you the rest. It all started when, one by one, the Scions fell victim to a deathlike sleep.”

“As the boy did in my custody.”

“Just so. You see, their souls had been Called to another world…”

I launched into an explanation of all of my trials on the First, beginning with the beginning and ending with the present. At first Gaius' eyebrows climbed as he listened to my story of other worlds and the way I journeyed to one, but at length he seemed to shove past his incredulity and settled fully to listen to my telling. His interest honed in on Emet-Selch, just as I thought it would. That is not to say that he excitedly asked questions and had me elaborate upon the nature of the man; he merely listened, silent, with that flame of violence and vengeance simmering behind his eyes.

Some two or three bells later my tale came to an end. I desperately wished for water. I licked my dry lips, clearing my throat and taking a deep breath. When I looked up, Gaius was offering me his waterskin. Surprised, I timidly took it from his hand with thanks and proceeded to slake my thirst as minimally as I could.

"You've had quite the adventures," he said, receiving it back from me and hooking it to his coat again.

"I always do," I agreed.

Gaius folded his arms and let his gaze fall. "I had not thought of the Ascians in such a light," he murmured. "As a people, with a culture. To me they were only harbingers of destruction."

"They are still."

"Of course." He grimaced. "And my quest remains unchanged even so. But it is… enlightening to have learned something personal of our foe."

I bit my lip. "My goals haven't changed either. But… I do want to remember them. I want to remember history. We need to know about the ancient past, what got us here. It's important."

Again an indecipherable emotion passed over his face. "I never used to give much thought to the pursuit of history in any way other than how it might aid in the conquering of a realm," he admitted. "Only recently have I begun to change."

"Change can be good."

The corner of his mouth briefly tugged toward a smile. "Indeed."

I contorted myself briefly so that I could theatrically and effectively flex my body in a satisfying, whining stretch. Then, settling down in my seat again, I gestured broadly to him.

"Now it's your turn," I said.

Gaius tilted his head. "You know of my exploits. I have wandered the Empire of late, sabotaging the administration's efforts in order to foil Ascian plots. Most recently I am come to you, to warn you of the warmachina."

"That's not what I mean. I have questions."

He folded his arms. "Mayhap I have answers, then. Ask."

I grinned. "Finally. Firstly, why do you wear those bandages on your arms?"

He gazed at me inscrutably. "Are we not planning to be intimate? You will see soon enough."

I huffed. "Fine. Tell me about those two you travel with. Start with the woman."

He nodded. "Severa is a capable warrior - someone I have trusted to have my back on countless occasions now. Her story, however, is hers to tell. The other, Valedaulin… he is also capable, but the only thing you need know about him is that if I ever attempt to return to Garlemald and her legions, he has sworn to kill me."

My eyes narrowed. "He'll have to go through me, then."

Gaius stared at me in shock. I shrugged.

"If you did plan to go back, I assume that it at least wouldn't be to reprise your role as a conquering warlord," I said to him. "The fact that you came to us to warn us of the Ruby Weapon attests to that. My assumption is that you don't thirst for conquest anymore and you'll not soon be my enemy again, if ever." I raised my eyebrows at him pointedly. "Do tell me if I'm wrong."

"And so you would protect me from him?"

"Of course. And don't start spouting things like 'I don't need anyone's protection' and all that. I protect who I please whether they like it or not."

Gaius looked down at his boots, clearly struggling for a response. His mouth opened and closed again. He sighed.

Then he met my eyes with a wry grin. "Should I assume that if my performance is underwhelming, this protection shall be withdrawn?"

I leaned forward, my eyes likely shining with mirth. "Absolutely," I assured him in jest. "So you'd better fuck me like your life depends upon it."

He seemed to grow more alert. "I shall try," he said.

The carriage abruptly lurched to a stop. My grin spread wide.

"We're here."


	2. The Seduction

I wasn't sure if the conference room that we were escorted to was the same as the one in which I had reunited with Raubahn and Gaius to first receive news of this mess. The twists and turns in the palace corridors had seemed different, at least. When we arrived Raubahn was standing in the exact same spot as before, as if he hadn't budged in a day. _Ah, the lot of leaders and other such responsibles,_ I thought to myself.

Gaius occupied my flank as I approached, clearly deferring to me. It felt strange to have him do that, given who he was. I had only ever witnessed him in a leading position.

Raubahn turned to me, glancing briefly at Gaius. "Ah, my friend! You return with good news, I trust?"

I nodded. "The Ruby Weapon is disabled permanently and being picked over by Cid and his Ironworks. They'll send word when they have more to say about it."

"That is _excellent_ news. Thank you. Again and again we must offer praise and thanks your way, and yet it never seems enough."

I smiled and performed a Flames salute before him, to which he nodded graciously.

"Now, I wish to know more about your adventures in other worlds," Raubahn continued, and would have said more were it not for the theatrical yawn that overtook me simply out of nowhere. 

"We need a room," I declared when I was finished with my display. I jerked a thumb back at Gaius. "He needs to bathe, I need to sleep. We'll take the usual one."

Raubahn glanced at Gaius again, hesitant. "One room? Surely another can be prepared -"

"Raubahn." I waited until his eyes met mine, then winked. His brows shot upward. Gaius, wisely, remained silent.

Raubahn cleared his throat. "Ah - the room in the west wing, then. I, er, trust you require no guide?"

"None at all." I turned and waved over my shoulder as I departed for the door, Gaius on my heel. "I'll tell you all about the First later, I promise."

"I'll look forward to it."

When we were a long ways down the hall and alone, Gaius drew close to me and said in a low voice, "Tell me that you did not somehow convey…"

"I thought about offering some humble excuse about not wanting to inconvenience anyone by taking up two rooms, but the moment came and I found I didn't feel like it. Besides, Raubahn knows how I work."

He breathed a long sigh from his nose and followed close behind.

* * *

The Ala Mhigan palace was constructed such that one was never lost so long as one knew to head east or west until reaching the outer wall or one of the main hallways. It was an easy matter to find my way from the maze of meeting spaces and to the west wing. There was an incandescent suite with a luxurious bathroom and a bed fit for two Roegadyn men, and I claimed it when there were no occupants with my repeated realm-saver privileges. I explained all this to Gaius as we walked only to be met with quiet grunts of acknowledgement and the like.

He did not _act_ as though he was soon to ravish me. Most men would have been hovering at my shoulder as I led them somewhere private, slavering over their fantasies, impatient, their breathing quickened already. Gaius, meanwhile, walked diagonally left and behind me - in a military guard formation, I realized suddenly, in which _I_ was the charge - and locked his step perfectly to match my pace. I was pleased rather than offended that he was not trembling and brainless with lust.

I opened the door for him when we arrived, and he stepped through without hesitation. I followed into the grand sitting room, lavishly furnished with bright colors and patterns emblematic of the nation sewn into the plush seats and covers. Gaius took it in with a long sweep of his gaze, identified the bathroom, and set off in its direction. He shrugged off his coat and hung it on a rack on the wall. _Heirsbane_ remained holstered on its back.

I decided to give him some privacy, and instead turned my attention towards the bedroom.

The room was even more lavish than the sitting room. I had not been exaggerating when I had told Gaius about the bed; two quite robust Roegadyn men could have easily slept together with much room to spare. I knew from experience that the mattress was crafted so exquisitely that one's body melted into it, though it easily supported hands planted flat for balance or support.

I walked a semicircle around it, one arm folded under my breasts and my other elbow resting upon my wrist so I could tap my lips with a pondering finger. How should I arrange myself? On my side with my hand on my hip, resplendent as a painting, gazing at the doorframe so that our eyes would meet as soon as he stepped within view? Or on my back, perhaps, with my arms above my head and my breasts on prominent display, like an offering?

I heard Gaius enter the bath on the other side of the suite. My heart gave a little leap before I returned to the task at hand.

I stripped down while I considered. Should I lay at the center of the bed, where he would have to crawl to reach me? Or should I be at the side, so that he could have his hands on me at once?

I spent a while lying on the bed in myriad positions with my body in several different poses, and eventually I decided to be at the side of the bed and on my back, so that he could look and approach me at his leisure. It seemed right.

I lay there, staring at the frescoes on the ceiling depicting desert elements and scenes of Ala Mhigan culture, none of which I cared about at the present moment. My mind was invariably drawn to two rooms away. I strained my ears for any sounds of water or movement or movement in water, but such sounds had ceased a few minutes ago and I heard none now. Impatience built up in my limbs like a blocked geyser. I chewed my lip and shook out my arms before resuming my tempting position again - but it was no use. I was dying to get on with it or at least know what he was up to.

I heaved myself off of the bed with a grunt and went to where a robe hung on the wall, and donned it with haste. Then I strode out, across the sitting room, and stopped to peer into the bathroom.

The bath itself was a marvel, a massive marble basin set in the floor, big enough that more than a few people could bathe together in comfort. It was floored in four descending tiers, each set at heights appropriate across all races, so that any type of body could enjoy it. The sides were slanted so that one might recline against them. An ornate faucet refreshed the water while a small drain at the lowest point took dirtied water away.

Gaius, given his impressive stature, relaxed on the third tier, where all below his neck was submerged. The ripples of the water from the faucet nearby obscured the rest of his body. His eyes were closed and his head lay back against the rim. His hair was wet and slicked back.

The sight of him and my state of near undress excited me.

I let my feet fall heavy as I approached the bath so he would know I was there and indeed, he opened his eyes and looked at me, his expression neutral. I stopped at the edge of the bath and smiled.

I let the robe fall from my body and puddle at my feet.

Gaius lifted his head. His eyes roamed my naked form without hesitation. His expression did not change; soon he looked back at my face, waiting without a word to see what I would do.

I walked slowly along the edge of the bath, my movements calculated to be alluring, to show off what I had to offer without any silly exaggerations. Gaius followed me with his eyes and did not turn his head even when I passed out of his view. I stopped behind him and stood there a moment, silent, waiting to see if he would turn around from curiosity - he did not. My grin widened, but I schooled it back to a loose and lascivious quirk of the lips.

I got low and carefully stepped into the bath beside him, putting my hand on his shoulder as I swung my leg over him and settled to straddle his lap with teasing movements of my hips. We touched below, as I had intended, and I felt a tiny prick of pleasure, and a warm rush of wanting more. He lifted his head just so and stared intently into my eyes.

Indulgently, I slid my hands down his bronze skin, across his chest and sweeping over his abs, making sure to savor every ilm of muscle that passed under my fingertips. I gripped his sides and rolled my hips to grind against him once more, this time noting with satisfaction that I had awakened his passion and it was slowly rising to meet me.

“Mm,” I hummed, a rising and falling and teasing sound that made it obvious what I was feeling. Gaius’ face changed imperceptibly. As I felt his hardness press upwards I favored it with one more coaxing rub. I looked him in the eyes with a seductive stare and let the smile fall from my lips so they would be loose. I leaned in to kiss him…

...and kissed a bar of soap instead.

Gaius was holding a bar of soap between his face and mine.

I jerked back, sputtering and wiping my mouth.

“It’s good you came,” he said impassively. “I haven’t finished. Kindly get my back.”

For a moment I gaped at him, ten thousand yalms beyond appalled, but then the tiniest glimmer of amusement sparkled in his eyes and I could not help but laugh at his boldness and the way I had walked headfirst into it - or mouthfirst, as it were. I reached to take the soap from his hand, then stopped short when my eyes noticed his fingers.

Some of the nails were missing.

I blinked, unsure of what I was seeing. Then the realization flowed into me.

_The cloth strips he wears._

Gaius allowed me to grab his arm and lift it out of the water without protest. Looking upon it stole my breath away.

His skin, from the tips of his fingers all the way to near his shoulder, was puckered and pockmarked in patterns that I recognized well, for I was no stranger to war and its weapons; these were the evidence of burns of an intense degree. At imprecise intervals were nearly ruler straight marks parallel to his body interrupting the patterns of regrown skin. Memories of his Legatus’ armor came flooding back to me, and I knew at once that these coincided with where it must have melted against his flesh and fused, needing then to be cut or ripped away.

“Gods,” I whispered.

Gaius lifted his other arm from the water and showed me that it bore matching disfigurement. “The Ultima Weapon set half the Praetorium aflame. To escape, I was forced to reach repeatedly through a wall of fire, and pull debris out of my way.”

I was intensely grateful that the Echo had not chosen this moment to take over; I could already imagine seeing him struggling in the flames, screaming through the pain behind his helmet as the heat and fire peeled his skin away and the melting armor burned him twice over.

Gently, perhaps more gently than was needed, I took his hand and brought it closer, studying it. “I did this,” I murmured.

He shook his head. “I made the decisions which led to this outcome. You were merely an actor playing your part in meting out my fate.”

I bit back the urge to say something like _if I had not fought you, this wouldn’t have happened to you_ because my mind immediately countered it with _if you had not fought him, he would have conquered all of Eorzea with the Ultima Weapon and you would still be enemies._ So instead I brought the back of his marred hand to my lips and graced it with a kiss. “Even so, I feel the need to say I’m sorry.”

When I looked up, Gaius’ expression was a twist of sadness and awe. I had only ever seen its like on the faces of the desperate and downtrodden whom I aided as an adventurer. His throat bobbed with a swallow.

“I do not think I deserve such tenderness as you are showing me,” he said thickly.

“Everyone needs a little tenderness once in awhile, whether they think they deserve it or not,” I rejoined, and smiled.

His eyes widened. His pupils darted back and forth between mine. I leaned forward and pecked a kiss on his lips, which he barely reacted to except to swallow again and, once I had retreated, wordlessly offer me the bar of soap once more. “Alright,” I said, “move forward a little so I can get behind you.”

Once we had shifted around and were thusly arranged, I cast an admiring glance over the wide expanse of his back, which was decently adorned with scars. He had likely acquired many of them in the brutal conquest of nations, but I tried not to think about that. The past was the past, and we all wore its reminders within and without.

I lathered soap in my hands and started at his shoulders, working my way across his skin in circling strokes. Occasionally I could not help but trace the lines with my fingers as I worked; I had a weakness for battle-worn bodies.

“Admiring my scars?” Gaius asked flatly.

I stopped in the middle of one such. “How did you know?”

“Some of them still give me pain.”

My hands sprang away from his back. “Sorry.”

He sighed. “They do not pain me so much as _that,”_ he said. “Explore my body as you wish.”

“As I wish, hmm?” When Gaius did not rise to this tease, I chuckled and continued to scrub, finally making my way down to his waist. Once I was done, I leaned all the way forward, pressing myself against his back and wrapping my arms around him. My hands traveled up his chest, one passing over his nipple and stopping there.

“I’ll be honest, I’ve never bathed a bedmate,” I said into his shoulder. “I might start from now on. It seems like it might be worth the effort. You smell lovely.”

“You might reserve such a judgement until after we have lain together,” Gaius suggested.

I grinned into his skin. “I’ll be honest again: I have little doubts for you.”

He did not offer a response to this. Shifting, I got onto my knees so that I could lean past his shoulder.

I spoke just next to his ear, my voice barely above a whisper, with a deep grin in my tone. “I want to suck your cock, Gaius.”

He inhaled deeply, lengthily, and let it out just as slowly. “Shall I get out?”

“Not necessary.” I withdrew my arms from around him and shuffled around his body until we were face to face again. He wore a confused frown.

“How is that not necessary? If I remain here, your head will be underwater.”

“I can breathe underwater.”

_“What?”_

His incredulity drew a beaming grin from my lips. “When I journeyed in the Ruby Sea, I received the Blessing of the Kojin, and now I couldn’t drown even if I tried. As you’ll soon see, it is a skill with _many_ uses.” I made to lower myself to him, but he held out a hand.

“Wait. I’m not sure that-”

My hands landed on his chest with a wet slap that echoed throughout the room. I pushed myself close and glared at him with frustration. “By the _Twelve,_ I just want to _taste you,_ Gaius!” I snarled.

His eyes widened at my outburst. I stayed close, pouting intensely, and watched the bewilderment fade from his expression and be replaced by something else - something that I didn’t understand until he grabbed my face and pulled my lips to his with such force that I thought I heard our teeth clack together.

“Mmph!” I exclaimed into his mouth. He responded with a small sound, a sound that set me ablaze with its passion, and when our lips briefly parted he exhaled a breath that I could only see as escalating. His hands left my face so that he could wrap his arms around me and pull me against him, my breasts flattened against his chest. His kiss was wild, wanting, full of everything I wanted to see. I threw my arms around his neck and attacked him with equal frenzy.

If this was what I had to look forward to… _Gods, have I made a good decision._

He pulled his head away suddenly, just enough so that he could speak coherently against my lips.

“Do it, then,” he growled. His arms released me.

My entire body came alight with a rush of warmth as I scrambled back. I panted one breath and gasped, “Yes _sir,”_ with enthusiasm, and my head broke the water so quickly that I felt a splash coalesce above me.

Underneath the surface Gaius spread his legs so that I would have room to settle myself between them. I marveled at what he possessed and reverently wrapped my fingers around the base, putting my other hand on his thigh to steady myself. I slipped forward, drawing close, and then ran my tongue slowly up his length until I reached the head, where I stayed to tease him with little circling caresses. I felt the muscles in his thigh flex and then slowly relax under my hand, and saw his chest expand outward with a sucked-in breath. Such a small, simple thing had made him ache?

Oh, this was going to be fun.

His length was impressive, but it was nothing to me. My head dipping, I took him entirely in my mouth, and fell immediately into the trance of the act. With my experience, the way of it was mere instinct, and I was free to focus entirely on the effect I was having - and oh, what an effect it was.

When I moved my tongue in a certain way, his breathing hitched for a moment. When my fingers teased him, his muscles tensed until I stopped. I drew my lips up his length and plunged down again, and I heard the soft squeak of his toes curling against the marble. His hands settled on my head, gripping my skull, and they were shaking. I glanced upward, and saw through the ripples on the water’s surface that his face was upturned.

After a time his hands seemed to be pushing me, and I let myself be lifted up and off of him. Planting my hands on the floor, I pushed myself up and surfaced. Gaius’ eyes were squeezed shut, and he was breathing hard.

“That’s enough,” he panted. His hands fell from my face.

I studied him silently, enjoying the way he was trying to steady his breathing. He laid one hand over his breast.

I grinned. "Goodness. You really enjoyed yourself, didn't you?"

"Your skill is commendable," he replied. "I should have foreseen that; you seem to be skilled in all things."

"I've had a lot of practice in all things."

At last the tense lines around his eyes relaxed, and he opened them to watch me sidle over to his lap and mount it again. I stayed on my knees so that we would not meet below; Gaius still seemed to need a moment. His hands came to rest on my hips. I bit my tongue to resist the overwhelming urge to kiss his neck… and was unsuccessful. I leaned in, but Gaius gently put a hand on my collar bone and held me back.

"I _really_ did a number on you," I observed lightheartedly.

"It has always been easier for me to maintain control of my stamina when _I_ am in control," he explained. My eyebrows climbed and a warm pulse pleasured me below as I pictured all the things I could do with this new information.

"I see. Noted." My smile was mischievous. I lifted a hand and trailed my fingers down his cheek. "Perhaps, near the end, I shall take control away from you."

He turned his head into my touch and pressed his lips to my wrist, which I took as him wordlessly expressing interest in the idea. A chuckle bubbled out of me; I couldn't _wait_ to do this.

My mind considered all the ways I could make my designs a reality as I waited a little longer for him to recover. At length he leaned forward and kissed _my_ neck, his lips and tongue attending the curve of skin below my jaw. I leaned my head to the side to grant him greater purchase and sighed contentedly. My stomach and below pulsed with heat.

I lowered my hips in a lapse of concentration, and found him pressing against me at the perfect alignment.

His lips on my skin froze, and I stiffened as a wave of lust washed over me.

I wasn't a big fan of sex in water - the splashing from displacement and the removal of natural lubricants was annoying - but I found myself compelled toward it now. It didn't help that I was aching for it so badly that my eyes were almost tearing up.

He leaned back to look at me, his hands sliding down to my hips. His eyes flashed with intensity. Sucking in a breath, I let myself sink down lower, ready and aching to take him in, but his hold on me tightened.

“Let’s move this to the bedroom?” I offered, and he nodded. He leaned forward to kiss me firmly, and then allowed me to scramble off of him so that we could both make our way out of the bath.

Gaius took his time with the towel, but I grabbed mine and strode quickly into the bedroom, throwing it over myself and twisting with frantic movements to get dry. I brushed my hair with a comb on the nightstand, then rushed to the bed and threw myself upon it to configure my body in the pose I had perfected earlier.

Lying on my back. My arms draped above my head on the pillows behind me. My spine subtly arched to display my breasts in prominence. One knee slightly bent to lend the entire picture a casual air.

Art.

Just as I thought it would be, it was worth it when Gaius walked in and I saw the way his eyes lit up and crawled over me. I felt his hungry gaze on my body like a physical touch.

I shifted a little, seductively moving my hips. "Do you like what you see, then?"

"How could I not?" He crossed the threshold and sat on the bed next to me, planting his hands on my either side. "A naked woman is waiting on the bed for me, presenting herself as if she is mine to take."

"Yes!" I exclaimed, so pleased that I fairly shivered. "Yes, that is _precisely_ the point of the pose. _Exactly_ what I mean to convey. So few consciously appreciate it."

He lowered his face to mine and trailed his lips along my jawline. “I am glad to observe.”

“You’d better be.” I hooked my hand under his chin and tugged until he stopped kissing me and looked into my eyes. “I want it hard, Gaius,” I said severely. “If you can’t fuck me like we’re almost fighting all over again, then you’d better go home.”

“I have no home to return to,” he said, “so I must do as you ask.”

My stomach lurched. “That’s not… that’s not what I-”

His mouth covered mine, and I couldn’t say another word.

I murmured a sound of protest but he deepened the kiss at once, and soon I was lost to it, my mind swaying to its rhythm. Gaius climbed on top of me and settled between my legs. Without looking, he used his thumb to find where he should go, then used his fingers to guide himself there. He pushed against me, and I spread my legs wider, beginning to ache with want as I felt him. My flesh parted easily, readily, and then he was sliding in and in and in, and I shuddered with glee and the anticipation of pleasure. 

I turned my head, breaking the kiss, and moaned, “Gaius…”

...And he _slammed_ the rest of the way in, yanking an involuntary gasp into my lungs, which was then followed by a rowdy laugh. “Gods, _yes.”_

He withdrew and plunged into me again, and pleasure exploded inside me. And again, and again. I drove my head back against the pillow and moaned, barely noticing when Gaius grabbed the pillow beside me and gracefully shoved it under my hips, which he and I were cooperating to keep raised. His hands freed, he bent over me and resumed with double the furor. The smacks of flesh meeting flesh and my agonized blissful moans and his breathy sighs of pleasure echoed throughout the room. Occasionally he groaned softly, and my ears strained to hear more.

When he leaned close and hissed my name against my lips, I came in an instant, all at once. The seething fire erupted, and my entire body entered its contractive throes. I cried out helplessly, muffled by Gaius’ voracious kiss, my hands threading through his hair, my nails scraping his scalp. Every thrust became a bellow’s breath upon a forge which could not grow cold.

“Keep going,” I begged once I had descended and my body had entered its new, heightened state. “Gods, Gaius, don’t stop.”

But he _did_ stop. He withdrew from me, and I was too stunned by the act to even begin to rage against it. He bent my knees in front of him, and reached under my back - and flipped me over onto my front. 

I knew instantly what he wanted. On my hands and knees, I spread my legs and offered myself again.

His hand seized the back of my head by my hair and roughly pushed my face down into the sheets.

I almost cried with joy. Instead I cried out with ecstasy as I nearly came all over again. I pleaded, clawing at the bed, “Back in. In, in, in, _now…”_

He obliged, and soon I was rocking with the force of his attentions again, my hands clutching fistfulls of the sheets like a lifeline. My breathing huffed in bursts with the harsh collisions of his pelvis against my body. Inside it was only fire, roiling and twisting and pulsing. He graciously allowed me to turn my head to the side, and I cried out freely with the wonderful pain of my second orgasm, come so quickly and so strongly that I had no time to prepare for it. I practically sobbed his name, every ilm of me undignified, and I was happier than perhaps I had ever been. Gaius gave some voice to his panting in response. He pounded away, carrying me through it until I lay gasping at the end instead of moaning, and then his pace slowed, then stopped.

He was breathing hard. His hand left my head and slid up my back as he straightened behind me. "I need a moment," he breathed.

I leaned forward, pulling him out of me, and pushed myself up, turning around. A devilish grin spread across my lips.

"No, you don't," I said.

His eyes widened. "What-"

I grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him down onto his back, mounting him in one swift and flawless movement. I lined us up and shoved him back inside me. He lifted his arms, but I seized them and pinned them down to his either side with all my strength. He huffed a bewildered breath and stared wildly up at me.

I rolled my hips across his lap, caressing him within me, and sighed with pleasure. Gaius' panting hitched, then resumed; as I slid back and forth, taking him deep, he shut his eyes and his head listed to one side. He moaned softly. Emboldened, I increased my pace.

Soon his breathing was deep and frantic, his look full of incredible charge. His golden eyes, open now, glimmered with lust and the crushing force of his mounting pleasure. I felt his knees bend behind me. I knew he wouldn't last much longer.

Riding him hard, I released his arms and put my hands on his chest, my fingers curling against his skin.

"Gaius," I growled, "Come. Right now."

Gaius gasped, and then he threw his head back against the pillow and moaned deep, and it was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. His hips bucked hard against me, his back arching, and he shuddered from head to toe, groaning and at once beginning to tremble. I felt the warm wetness of his release inside me. His hands seized my hips and gripped them, shaking helplessly, while he panted as his orgasm claimed him. I beheld the euphoric grimace of ecstasy fading from his face with immense pleasure.

As it drained out of him, he sank down into the bed and looked up at me with wide eyes. He spoke between breaths.

"No one has ever… ordered me to…" He swallowed hard, then exhaled, trying to regain control of his breathing.

I chuckled. Lifting myself off of him, I crawled forward a little and then leaned down to place a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll be right back.” He nodded numbly.

I walked with my thighs carefully closed to the bathroom, where I sought a rag to do the extremely necessary ritual of cleaning up; I hated to leave _leavings_ inside me, especially when they made their way out on their own with the most unfortunate sensations. My undignified half-squatting finished, I returned to the bedroom with another rag for Gaius, who received it with a grateful nod.

That done, I crawled back onto the bed and over to his side. Busy cleaning up, he absently held out his arm to receive me, and I stared at it in surprise. Before he could behold my expression I settled myself next to him, grinning as his arm closed upon my body and his hand brushed my side. I placed an adoring hand on his chest and laid my head on his shoulder.

“Toss it,” I told him when he was done and holding the rag as if he didn’t know what to do with it. He did so, and with that, it was done. I snuggled against him with a grin and a long, contented sigh.

"Shall I consider your offer of protection intact, then?" Gaius asked.

My grin widened. "Consider it _strengthened._ Before I was only willing to fight for you. Now I would die for you, Gaius Baelsar." He looked at me with shock in his eyes, and I shrugged. "But I would die for all of my friends, so this doesn't make you special."

"Is that what we are now? Not allies, but friends?" He smiled gently to himself. "That is… nice to hear. But I think you'll find your better friends will not be so receptive to that idea."

"They'll come around." I breathed out another, longer sigh. “I think I might take a nap.”

“I shall endeavor to be silent and still, then.”

I put a hand on his cheek and gave it a little, teasing push. “You should take a nap, too. You’ve earned it. When was the last time you slept on a real bed, much less a bed like this?”

His gaze grew distant. Recognizing what I saw, I gave his cheek two further light slaps. “Hey. I know I just gave you a prompt, but don’t think about the past.” _I have got to stop asking him ‘when was the last time you’ questions. It just hurts him._ I tucked my arm back into my body and settled down again. “Relax.”

Gaius closed his eyes. “I will try.”

I turned my head and graced his skin with a light kiss. Exhaustion was already settling over me; little by little I allowed my body to limpen and my mind to clear.

It wasn’t long before I drifted into slumber next to a man who had become one of my greatest conquests twice over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment if you liked the fic. I'm proud to support this rarepair!


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